How to Make a Planting Square to Uniformly Space Your Seeds

Do you ever wonder how you are supposed to uniformly space your seeds so many inches apart, as described in the planting instructions?

Well, last month, on a visit to the Family Garden at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), I noticed that they had these neat planting squares to do just that, which is particularly important to do when your amount of space is limited. With that inspiration and some additional thoughts of what would be helpful to me, I asked my husband to make one. The basic idea was a picture frame with a twelve inch by twelve inch opening with pegs placed at two, three, four, six, eight, nine, and ten inches to facilitate planting seeds two, three, four, or six inches apart. I also requested that it be weather-proof, as it may be left in the garden from time-to-time.

After getting the materials together at a cost of less than ten dollars, my husband was able to build the planting square in less than one hour. Here's how he did it.

1. Gather your materials. My husband had all of the necessary tools on hand: power drill/screwdriver and bits; miter box and saw; manual screwdriver, tape measure and pencil. He purchased the rest of the materials at the local hardware store, Dreyer's Lumber: two by two cedar (more weather-proof than pine) balusters for the frame; four brackets for the inside corners; and a box of brass screws for the pegs. I had my own rubber bands for stretching across the pegs.

2. Cut the sides of your frame. Using the miter box and saw, he cut the sides of the frame at forty-five degree angles with the inside (not the outside) measuring twelve inches.

3. Assemble your frame. After pre-drilling the holes for the brackets on the inside of the frame, he attached the brackets to the corners.
4. Attach your pegs. After pre-drilling the holes for the pegs on the front of the frame, he secured the pegs (screws), leaving enough of the head uniformly above the frame to stretch my rubber bands to the desired spacing.

In Praise of Blotanical: Where Garden Blogs Bloom

There are many places on the find gardening blogs: the broadest Google searches, the more narrow Technorati blog-only searches, and to numerous gardening-specific websites. Of all of these, I find that the best by gardeners and for gardeners is Blotanical. They have all sorts of ways of presenting blogs by popularity, location, etc. Recently, they even announced their first-ever Blotanical Awards.

Warning: one could spend countless hours looking at these blogs which might take away from family, gardening, blogging and all other responsibilities.

How to Grow Flowers on a Military Base in Iraq

Imagine that you are a committed gardener and find yourself stationed in Iraq in the middle of a desert. What would you do?

The post: http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_grow_flowers_on_a_military_base_in_Iraq/

The author's blog: http://www.spf400.blogspot.com/

Pray for our troops and their families around the world.

Interview with Lawrence Griffith, Colonial Williamsburg's Curator of Plants and Author of Flowers and Herbs of Early America

As I wrote in a prior post, I very much enjoyed Flowers and Herbs of Early America by Lawrence Griffith, Colonial Williamsburg's Curator of Plants. After my short review, Lawrence and I got in touch and he agreed to answer a few questions.
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Q. First, I'd love to hear about how you became a gardener, particularly a gardener interested in heirloom plants.
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A. My grandparents had a summer home in New Milford, Connecticut, in the Berkshires. I was very beautiful. We had a 20-mile view into the Litchfield Hills. My grandmother was a gardener and introduced me to the culture. The Green thumb skips a generation. My mother was an enthusiastic, but no avid. The house stood on a six acre former milk cow pasture, so the soil was unbelievably fertile. I never fertilized. And then I was loaned out to gardening neighbors who taught me to garden, weekend-New York people. So I did everything the old fashionable way, wettable powers, etc.
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Q. What was the impetus for the book?
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A. In 2001 I was the recipient of a Mars Foundation grant that allowed me to study heirloom plants. It funded 3 years of live field trials, and 3 years of research. While I gardened, Barbara Lombardi, the photographer, would photograph behind me. And we put two and two together and came up with a project.
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Q. What are your five favorite plants in the book for the home gardener and why?
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A. Adonis (Adonis aestivalis) is a cool season annual with millennia of history behind it. If the seed is sown by the middle of March its cherry red blossoms emerge by the middle of June. Fall sown Adonis will germinate in the fall and survive the winter to bloom the following spring, like such things as Calendula, English daisies, and wallflower. It’s cheery, about 18” tall, with very attractive ferny foliage.
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I like the China aster (Callistephus chinensis), a late season annual, because of the relatively large size of the flowers in comparison to other antique plants. They make very good cut-flowers, and bloom at a time when the asters and late perennial sunflowers are blooming. China asters are typically blue, white and pink and either single or double. Gardeners who plant seed in the spring should expect flowers by the end of August.
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Cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) is a tropical annual vine from the West Indies. ‘Cypress’ refers to the very fine foliage of the vine, also known Cardinal Vine. It also has bright red flowers, about ½” across, and if planted in masses it can cover a long picket fence. One caveat is that it is very prolific with its seed and can become a pest.
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I enjoyed the annual larkspur (Consolida ambigua) the most because it did the best job in reseeding. The aim of the Mars Foundation grant was to find crops of flowers that would reseed and come back the following spring. Larkspur now is germinating in my garden at home, the genesis for next year’s crop. Larkspur flowers in white, blue and pink and great masses of it can be achieved if it is left to yellow and set seed, and then disperse it.
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The scarlet pentapetes (Pentapetes phoenicia) is a tropical annual, with scarlet flowers, that grows to five feet, and is given to reseeding. In addition to its stellar flowers, its serrated foliage is a deep glossy green. This and the cypress vine abhor chilly weather and the gardener is urged to wait until the end of May to attempt seed germination.
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Q. What do you hope a reader gets from the book and why?
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A. I want the reader to know of the real beauty in older, smaller flowers. Prior to the great age of hybridization for larger flower size and longer duration of bloom, simpler flowers delighted millions. Barbara’s photographs really enhance the architectonic aspect of many flower forms and gives some glimpses into the origins of common names that have been attached to them throughout time.
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I’d like the gardener to become a little aware of the history of botany, that our plant legacy started with the ancients, and has become amended over time. The colonial plant palette still incorporates much of the Greco-Roman herbal, and I find that intrinsically interesting.
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I’d like the gardener to know of the rewarding experience of growing flowers and herbs from seeds, sown directly into the ground. While initially planting and thinning seedlings can be tedious, a gardener can easily amass a collection of dozens of species without undo expense.
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Q. In a world gone mad with politics and financial meltdown, what does gardening do for our peace, quiet and sanity? What do you tell younger adults who may ignore its beauty and pleasure?
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A. Like any other task, I think gardening can be meditative, if the mind concentrates on the task at hand. Frankly, I’d rather be bothered by lawn mower and tractor problems, vole problems, and drought, than the ups and downs of the market. A well manicured yard is a peaceful thing for me to observe and probably does more to restore my soul than anything else.
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Younger adults need to look beyond the ‘hard work’ aspect of gardening. As younger adults mature, they begin to learn that in the myriad ‘dull’ spots in life, a hobby, such as gardening, can be fulfilling.
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And gardening can be done on every scale, from landscape development to window box gardening. I don’t think you can ‘get the bug’ without some hands on, or a familial tie, such as I had with my grandmother who taught me the sheer beauty of landscape and gardens.

A Lattice Screen to Hide My Gardening Supplies and Grow Clematis

Back in August, the Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop at Gardening Gone Wild focused on Trellises and Screens. I didn't get around to contributing at that time, but one thing that Nan wrote in the wrap-up compelled me to add something to the conversation.

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Nan writes: "One issue brought up in a comment but not addressed by many posts was about trellises that work well for clematis...I've never had much luck with purchased supports for clematis..." Well, in hopes of providing some encouragement, here are two pictures of the lattice screens beneath my deck (that hide my gardening supplies and tools) with some very happy clematis. The pink one is Aseo and the purple one is Jackmanii.

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In addition to those beneath my deck, I have trellises and screens in two other parts of my garden: (i) in the Cutting Garden next to the chimney (pictured below) which provides a place to grow the vigorous rose Complicata and (ii) on the deck in containers to provide privacy from the next door neighbors on which I grow annual vines (this year, I grew Moon flowers).

Autumn Beauty: Clematis Seed Heads

Autumn Beauty: The Yellow Leaves of the Hickory Tree

One Garden That Still Looks Great After the Frost

I always tell my husband that we can never, ever move to a colder climate. We're in zone 6b and we have not yet experienced our first frost. However, I've been admiring Yvonne Cunnington's blog entries over at Country Gardener (Ontario, Canada) and her photographs remind me that the post-frost garden can look beautiful too. Here's her latest:

Country Gardener: November color - fall is not over yet

New Blogger Gadget: Followers

I just added a neat new Gadget from Blogger to my blog called Followers. You can see it on the upper right sidebar. Here's how it works:

If you add yourself as a Follower of my blog (or whatever blog uses the Gadget), then Blogger displays your icon as a Follower and includes new Heirloom Gardener posts in your Dashboard's Reading List. Further, it adds a free link directly from my blog via your icon to your About Me entry, so other Heirloom Gardener readers can find out more about you and your blogs.

If you'd like to add the Gadget to your blog, go to your Dashboard, click on Layout, then click on Add a Gadget.

Beyond Daffodils and Tulips: Seven Minor Bulbs To Plant for Spring

Over the last week, we've had a wonderful stint of warm weather. In preparation, I cleared my schedule for a fall planting holiday. This year I tried to concentrate on the minor bulbs that often get overlooked in the mad rush to plant tulips and daffodils -- I did do a bit of that too, but we'll save that for later.
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The minor bulbs like snowdrops, winter aconite, and bluebells are so wonderful because they can easily be tucked under deciduous shrubs and around perennials which are rarely divided like peonies and oriental poppies. Also, many of them are the first late winter flowers to appear. In zone 6, I begin getting snowdrops in early February.
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1. Snowdrops. I planted three varieties of snowdrops: Galanthus elwesii, Galanthus ikariae, and Galanthus nivalis flore pleno. Elwesii is the largest and first to bloom and the others follow extending the flowering from February well into April. I usually order from Van Engelen so that I can get large quantities inexpensively. Snowdrops are best planted in groups of no less than ten bulbs. Seeing that they bloom when nothing else is and that they are rodent proof, you can't have to many of them.
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2. Winter Aconite. Winter aconite starts blooming once the snowdrops have began. I find that they more quickly naturalize than snowdrops so I planted about a third fewer of them. I soak my bulbs for a few hours before planting because the bulbs have a tendency to dry out. I also buy from Old House Gardens whose bulbs are dipped in agricultural wax alleviating the problem of the bulbs drying out. These I scatter about in areas of the garden that have humusy soil and I know do not go dry during the summer as they like consistent moisture throughout the year.
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3. Tommies. On the heels of the aconite, are the tommies. Crocus tommasinianus bloom before Crocus vernus and are less frequently eaten by squirrels and chipmunks. I planted a beautiful lavender form called Roseus. These can go everywhere, but I like them along the front walk so during the cold days of early spring I don't have to venture far to take a look at them or cut them. Again, I planted in groups of ten.
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4. Glory of the Snow. Also in March, the Glory of the Snow blooms. These flowers are such an iridescent blue that they shout spring is here. I love these at the base of Magnolias which bloom around the same time.
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5. Crocuses. By mid-April, Crocus vernus comes into bloom. The first year I planted these they appeared and flowered beautifully, only to be dug up and eaten by chipmunks immediately afterward. I think they did not dig them in the fall because I soaked them in deer repellent before planting. To avoid them from being dug up in the spring, I laid deer netting over the area for a few weeks. The chipmunks seem to forget they're there after a while and leave them alone.
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6. Muscari. At the end of April, muscari comes into bloom. Muscari is wonderful with late blooming daffodils and early tulips. Also, they're useful to use as a marker for where other bulbs are planted. They sprout and flower in the spring, have a typical summer dormancy, but in the fall muscari sprouts leaves again. If planted among other bulbs, it can serve as a fall marker so that the other bulbs are not accidentally displaced during the fall planting season. Although, no one bothers the muscari bulb, deer have browsed the foliage of mine.
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7. English Bluebells. English bluebells bloom in mid May along with late daffodils and tulips. English bluebells are dainty, sweet smelling flowers that are avoided by animals.

Fragrance in the Garden: The Katsura Tree in Autumn

Purchased five years ago at a benefit for the Reeves Reed Arboretum in Summit, New Jersey, this Katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, has grown from two feet to about twenty feet tall. Because of its beautiful form (it will be great to climb in about fifty years) and leaves (now yellow), it is one of my favorite trees in the garden. In addition, its most unique feature is its caramel-like fragrance that you experience in the fall. It is planted in the backyard next to the fort and in front of the deer fence.
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Update: as requested, here is an additional picture which displays what the leaves of the Katsura tree look like during the spring and summer.

A Flowering Tree for Spring and Fall: Autumn Cherry Blossoms

Despite temperatures forecast to dip below freezing, another week has gone by and I have thankfully not yet experienced my first frost. The weather is supposed to be in the forties to sixties this week, so it will be a perfect autumn week in the garden.

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As I have previously written, I love flowering trees. I love them so much that I seek out varieties that blossom at various times of the year, not just the spring. For example, my new autumn cherry, prunus subhirtella autumnalis (pictured below), which I planted this spring in the Walled Garden, blossoms in both the spring and the fall. The autumn blooms, offset by the leaves which have already started to change from green to red, started showing themselves in October and are continuing into November.